


Too Many Sorry's

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Breakup, F/M, Jeronica, Riverdale, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, anti betty, bughead breakup, jughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, toni topaz - Freeform, veronica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 00:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14508165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: Toni’s eyes sparkled as she shook her head, as if Jughead was a fool for not seeing it himself.“Because you two are already like an old married couple. You bicker constantly, and yet, you  both love the exact same things. You watch each other without even realizing it. Your faces light up whenever you two see each other. When you’re not arguing, you actually talk about things that matter. And the sexual tension between you two…well, let’s just say that you two better never get too close to any gasoline. The spark would burst into flames.”





	Too Many Sorry's

“She said she was sorry.”

Toni rolled her eyes, balling her hands into fists as she and Jughead sat in the Whyt Wyrm talking about Jughead’s latest relationship issue.

“How many sorry’s is it going to take before you’ve finally had enough, Jughead?”

Jughead sighed before casually throwing a dart at the dartboard on the wall across from where the two friends sat.

“It’s just…she’s gone through a lot of family drama lately, and…I would feel like a jerk if I just left her high and dry.”

Toni shook her head.

“How are you not seeing how much she manipulates you, Jug? Not only does Betty lie to you constantly but you let her get away with it. She’s turning you into a spineless, brainless, minion to do her Betty bidding. What happened to the badass that you used to be? I fucking miss that guy.”

Jughead frowned.

“I don’t know how to make you understand, Toni.”

Toni scoffed.

“Oh, I understand. I understand that Betty is a user and a liar and she only cares about you when you’re helping her out of her latest crisis of her own creation. When are you going to wise up?”

Jughead wasn’t sure how to explain to Toni that Betty had been there for him at a time in his life when no one else had been. That she had cared about him when no one else seemed to. That she had done things for him that had meant so much to him.

She had been his first everything, and it wasn’t so easy to walk away from that.

Sure, he and Betty had been having some difficult times lately. They had broken up and gotten back together more times than he could count, but cutting each other loose for good just hadn’t seemed to happen yet.

Everytime he tried to get himself out of Betty’s web of chaos, he always seemed to get sucked right back in.

“Okay, then, Toni. What would you have me do?”

Toni got a satisfied smile on her face.

“Oh, I’ll _tell_ you what I think you should do. I think you should dump her conniving ass pronto. Tell her exactly why, and then move on to someone much better for you. Someone who you keep overlooking because you’re so blinded by Betty’s bullshit.”

Jughead looked at his best friend suddenly very confused.

“Overlooking? Who am I overlooking? _You_?”

But Toni laughed boisterously.

“No, not me, you dumbass. You know I’m with Cheryl.” She said as she smacked Jughead on the arm.

“Then who?” He asked, suddenly very curious as to who it was that Toni thought he should be with instead of Betty.

Toni gave him a sly smile.

“Veronica Lodge.”

Jughead’s eyes widening as his heart suddenly leapt in his chest at the mention of the raven haired beauty of the Northside, and ex-girlfriend of his best friend, Archie Andrews.

She was not at all who he expected Toni to suggest.

“Veronica? Why…why her?” He asked, nervously.

Toni’s eyes sparkled as she shook her head, as if Jughead was a fool for not seeing it himself.

“Because you two are already like an old married couple. You bicker constantly, and yet, you  both love the exact same things. You watch each other without even realizing it. Your faces light up whenever you two see each other. When you’re not arguing, you actually talk about things that matter. And the sexual tension between you two…well, let’s just say that you two better never get too close to any gasoline. The spark would burst into flames.”

Jughead could hardly believe what he was hearing. How had he not known how closely Toni had been paying attention to his reticent interest in Riverdale's closest thing to royalty?

She was much more astute than he had given her credit for.

But it was true. He could hardly keep his eyes off of Veronica whenever she was around. He had always been struck by how gorgeous she was, and he’d never been able to shake his deep attraction towards her, no matter how wrong he’d felt for feeling that way.

And he _did_ find her one of the most irritating but intelligent people he’d ever known. He liked talking to her, he liked arguing with her, he liked teasing her, and he liked the way she looked at him whenever he made a point she hadn’t thought of. It was like winning a little prize, and a little piece of her respect, and he reveled in it.

But he had kept all of his thoughts about Veronica to himself, never wanting to let go of the crusty exterior he’d tried to maintain whenever he was around her. It was a matter of pride, and a matter of there being no chance that Veronica would ever look at him the way he looked at her.

It wasn’t even about betraying Archie or Betty, because Veronica Lodge wasn’t the kind of girl that would ever sink low enough to look at a Southside Serpent, much less date one.

“You’re forgetting one thing, T. Veronica doesn’t like the Serpents, nor the Southside.”

Toni shook her head.

“That’s where you are wrong, my friend. She likes me, and we’ve become really good friends ever since we saved Cheryl from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Plus, she always spots me at Rivervixen practice. She’s a total badass who could help you find your fucking backbone that you’ve seem to have lost ever since you started dating that walking ponytail you call a girlfriend.”

Jughead couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at Toni’s disdain for his girlfriend. He used to think that it was because Toni was somewhat jealous, but now that she was seriously involved with Cheryl Blossom, he knew the way she felt about Betty was based on something else. That something else being that Toni didn’t think Betty deserved him.

It flattered Jughead that Toni thought so highly of him, but that was what best friends were supposed to do. At least, that’s what he told himself. It was hard for him to see himself as being worth something, and worth more than what he had or what he got.

“Regardless, Veronica would never even consider dating someone like me. Even _if_ I was interested in her at all, which I’m not.”

But Toni just shook her head, grinning that knowing grin.

“Keep telling yourself that, Jughead. But I see the way you look at her, and I see the way she looks at you. Both of you are hot for each other but you’re both too damn stubborn to admit it.” She said as she popped a handful of bar nuts in her mouth.

“Well, as stimulating as this conversation has been, I need to get going. I’m supposed to meet 'the walking ponytail' for dinner at Pop’s. She has something she needs to talk to me about.”

Toni didn’t even try to hide the eyeroll she gave Jughead as he got up from his seat to head out.

“Think about what I said, Jughead. Veronica is a path worth taking a stroll down.”

Jughead walked out into the parking lot towards his motorcycle.  He understood that Toni wanted the best for him but didn’t think it was Betty. And as much as he tried to deny everything she had been saying to him about his relationship for so long now, he hadn’t been able to take any of it to heart enough to just end things with the only girl he’d ever been with.

Something about not being with Betty made him nervous. There was a deep seeded insecurity that he couldn’t seem to overcome. He knew it wasn’t healthy, but he didn’t know how to battle it. All he could do was hope that there would be a breaking point, and it would be enough to give him the push he needed.

\---

Veronica Lodge was just about to leave the Riverdale City Library when she noticed a familiar beanie sticking out above an open book, feet up on the table with a laptop open in front of him.

She didn’t usually go out of her way to approach Jughead, knowing he wasn’t her biggest fan, but she hadn’t seen him around much ever since he and Betty broke up and she was curious as to how he was doing.

She was no stranger to heartbreak herself, after she and Archie had broken up just a couple months earlier, and she wondered if she could offer Jughead some solace at all for what he might be going through. It was worth a shot, even if he completely rebuffed her.

“Jughead?”

The book he was reading clattered to the table, having been so surprised by the interruption that he’d dropped it.

“Veronica! Uh…hi…” He replied as he sat up in his chair.

“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

She didn’t know why she felt so bashful all of a sudden, but there was something about the way Jughead was looking at her that was different. Almost as if he was glad to see her.

“You’re…you’re not bothering me at all.” He said as he moved his bag from the chair next to him.

Veronica smiled as she sat down and picked up the book he had been so engrossed in.

Tolstoy, huh?” She asked, smiling at the fact that Jughead seemed to enjoy one of her favorite authors.

Jughead nodded.

“Yeah, I read him to take the edge off…ya know?”

Veronica gave him a sympathetic look.

“Yeah…I’m sorry about you and Betty. I know how tough it is. And…if you ever want to talk about it…I’m here.”

Jughead’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t at all expected her to be so kind in the wake of the breakup with her best friend.

“Uh…thank you…Veronica.”

The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, unsure what the boundaries were between them, if there were any at all. Their ex’s were each other’s best friends, and it was a strange situation to be in.

Finally, Jughead spoke up.

“But, honestly…it’s okay. I’m not sorry about what happened. It needed to happen. Toni had been telling me for a long time that I needed to end it with Betty because of all the times she’s…lied to me. I guess I’d just finally had it after she told me about the whole webcam thing.”

Veronica nodded, completely understanding how he felt. She agreed that he had every right to break up with Betty after all the things she had put him through. But when she had finally fessed up to him about how she had been making some extra money by being an online cam girl, Jughead was no longer willing to let it go.

“I’m glad she told you herself instead of you finding out some other way.” Veronica said.

“At least that is something.”

Jughead sighed.

“I guess so. I just…I just wish it hadn’t been going on for all that time without me even having any idea. Sometimes…I feel like I just don’t even know Betty anymore. She’s changed so much this past year. And it just took me too long to see it.”

Veronica was surprised at how candid Jughead was being with her, but she was beyond glad that she could be there for him. It was obvious he had needed to vent to someone who really understood. Someone who knew Betty and had also seen all the ways she had changed.

“Better late than never, as they say.”

Jughead smiled.

“That’s for damn sure.” He replied as he looked at Veronica, his gaze lingering on her for longer than usual.

“You know, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but…Toni has been telling me for weeks now that…that you and I…that we should try dating or something…” He said, shyly.

Veronica could feel the blush in her cheeks at his confession. It was something she had actually thought about a lot. And she liked the idea.

Jughead was unlike any guy she had ever known, and over the past couple of months, she had found herself noticing him in a way she never had before. And recently, she had finally admitted to herself that she had a bit of a crush on the introverted brooder.

“Funny you should say that, Jughead, because Cheryl has been telling me the _exact_ same thing.”

Jughead let out a laugh.

“Oh, really now? Think those two might be trying do a little matchmaking?”

Veronica chuckled.

“Apparently. They think they’re so clever, huh?”

Jughead grinned at her.

“Well, I suppose we shouldn’t disappoint them. They obviously mean well, and I’d hate to let them down when they have such high hopes.”

Veronica nodded, her smile never fading.

“That’s true. It would be really nice of us to make them happy. So…then…I guess maybe we should go out sometime.” She said as she watched Jughead put his laptop and book away into his bag.

“How about right now?” Veronica Lodge, would you go on a date with me?” He asked, suddenly sounding nervous.

Veronica couldn’t stop smiling. She hadn’t expected that just sitting down to see if Jughead was doing alright after his breakup with Betty would lead to going out on a date with him. Even before Cheryl had mentioned how good she and Jughead would be together, she had already been thinking about him in a way that she couldn't ignore. And as the days went by, she knew she was over her past relationship with Archie, that she was ready to move on to something new. And that something new that she wanted to move onto was Jughead. She hadn't thought for a minute that Jughead might be thinking the same thing about her, and the thought sent a wave of excitement throughout her whole body. She wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her by, no matter what. Not when she knew she had the chance for something amazing and incredible.

It was obvious to her now that all bets were off, and Jughead was doing fine. There was no way she was going to say no to him.

“Yes, Jughead Jones. I’d love to.”

 

The End.

 

 

 

 


End file.
